Readers Ride - Best of the Bag

5.0 Showcase

Lava Lava
Steven and Julie McGuire own this Lava Red '12 Mustang GT. Yes, you read that right: Lava Red. I had to do a double-take as well. The car sure looks black to me, but that's the trick to Lava Red--it's sort of black. Having never seen one in person, we hear it's more of a dark maroon shade that often looks black. Editor Turner seems to think it's black with red highlights. (He should know a thing or two about highlights, so I can't argue with him.) All Steven and Julie know is that the car has participated in five car shows and won four First Place trophies and a Best-in-Show for Paint/Modern Car award. The couple's GT features a Brembo package, HID headlights, a UPR Products billet shift knob, Lloyd's 5.0 floormats, Redline Tuning hood struts, an Airaid cold-air intake with a Bama Performance tune, and a Flowmaster American Thunder axle-back exhaust. The Springfield, Missouri, couple used to own an '06 GT which they showed with some success, but since trading the '06 for the '12, their success has turned into an undefeated streak.

Jimmy T
Instead of our boy Jimmy C. from Jersey, this is Jimmy T. from Weeki Wachee, Florida. Jimmy's last name is actually Turiello, and this is his '12 Mustang V-6 six-speed. As you can see, it's Kona Blue Metallic, and Jimmy laid out the design plan on the car. He started with headlight splitters, sidescoops, quarter-window louvers, a GT500 rear spoiler, and custom front-fender vents. "It gave me a heart attack when I saw them cutting into my new beast," Jimmy says. The door stripe even has the Mustang running horse etched into it. "I'm very proud of how it turned out," Jimmy adds.

'Stang Love
If the thought of a love story makes you want to throw up, you may want to skip on to the next department. Bryan Verbanic was hanging out at a party when a girl walked in the door and asked, "Whose Mustang is out front?" Usually that's followed by, "I'm sorry to tell you this, but I backed into it." Fortunately, that wasn't the case for Bryan. The girl's name was Destiny, and it turns out she had a Mustang as well. It was even the same year as Bryan's S197 GT and the same color. It was meant to be, but fate took its time before the two had their first date. Destiny needed advice on where to have her Mustang serviced, and Bryan knew exactly where to send her--GTR High Performance. Unfortunately, not long after the two started dating, Destiny's Mustang met its demise at the hands of a telephone pole. Not to be deterred, Destiny got right back on the horse with a new-to-her S197. Bryan and Destiny are now engaged to be married in October of 2013. "I'm so blessed to have such a beautiful, amazing woman in my life who can put up with my car addictions," Bryan says. Where's the bucket?